Elle King on Her Debut Album and Rolling with the Boys

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As an angsty Ohio sixth-grader, roughand-tumble singer-songwriter
Elle King had a musical epiphany that literally rocked her world: Her musician stepdad, who was meant to bring
home the latest Shaggy CD for her, made a last-minute judgment call
and picked up an album by the all-girl rock band The Donnas instead.
"He said, 'This is what you need to listen to,' " explains the 23-year-old
doe-eyed songstress. "I got so mad at him, but after a couple days I
put it on and I got it. They were so punk rock—sneaking out, going to
parties, having boyfriends, getting their radios taken away—it was just cool!" Elle, who is set to release her first full-length album (a continuation of her critically acclaimed EP) later this year, never looked back: "From there I started to listen to AC/DC and Blondie, and I wanted to be super hard-core."

Soon life would imitate art. This self-proclaimed class clown—
the daughter of The Hot Chick funnyman Rob Schneider and
former model London King—is the first to admit she was anything
but a good girl. "I did some stupid things when I was younger, but I
got a lot out of my system. Every time, my mom was waiting there
with an 'I told you so.' Moms are usually right," Elle says with a
laugh. "You're wrong if you don't think that they've done what we're
doing, because they have."

As her wild child days simmered, a reflective and more
vulnerable Elle threw herself into making music. "[My sound] is a hot
mess of Southern soul, with a little bit of rock 'n' roll, country, and R&B," explains Elle, who plays the guitar, banjo, piano, and dulcimer. "I can't choose just one genre, so I'm going to play all of them."

The result is an authentic and deeply personal arsenal of songs about heartache, disillusionment, and kicking some serious butt that walk an emotional line with a been-there-done-that swagger. "I flip the turntables. I write a lot from the male perspective, but as a female. That's how I live my life. I can roll with the boys," she says with a flirty Drew Barrymore wink. But, guys, beware: "I have perfected the art of the mean song to make me feel like I have a backbone," she says. "Sometimes if you fake confidence long enough, you're going to be confident."

Story edited for TeenVogue.com. See photos from Elle's photo shoot and watch a bonus interview, then pick up the complete interview with Elle King in the May issue of Teen Vogue, on newsstands April 16.

Blond and boisterous, music's newest hot chick is ready to stand her ground (and make a lot of noise).

As an angsty Ohio sixth-grader, roughand-tumble singer-songwriter
Elle King had a musical epiphany that literally rocked her world: Her musician stepdad, who was meant to bring
home the latest Shaggy CD for her, made a last-minute judgment call
and picked up an album by the all-girl rock band The Donnas instead.
"He said, 'This is what you need to listen to,' " explains the 23-year-old
doe-eyed songstress. "I got so mad at him, but after a couple days I
put it on and I got it. They were so punk rock—sneaking out, going to
parties, having boyfriends, getting their radios taken away—it was just cool!" Elle, who is set to release her first full-length album (a continuation of her critically acclaimed EP) later this year, never looked back: "From there I started to listen to AC/DC and Blondie, and I wanted to be super hard-core."

Soon life would imitate art. This self-proclaimed class clown—
the daughter of The Hot Chick funnyman Rob Schneider and
former model London King—is the first to admit she was anything
but a good girl. "I did some stupid things when I was younger, but I
got a lot out of my system. Every time, my mom was waiting there
with an 'I told you so.' Moms are usually right," Elle says with a
laugh. "You're wrong if you don't think that they've done what we're
doing, because they have."

As her wild child days simmered, a reflective and more
vulnerable Elle threw herself into making music. "[My sound] is a hot
mess of Southern soul, with a little bit of rock 'n' roll, country, and R&B," explains Elle, who plays the guitar, banjo, piano, and dulcimer. "I can't choose just one genre, so I'm going to play all of them."

The result is an authentic and deeply personal arsenal of songs about heartache, disillusionment, and kicking some serious butt that walk an emotional line with a been-there-done-that swagger. "I flip the turntables. I write a lot from the male perspective, but as a female. That's how I live my life. I can roll with the boys," she says with a flirty Drew Barrymore wink. But, guys, beware: "I have perfected the art of the mean song to make me feel like I have a backbone," she says. "Sometimes if you fake confidence long enough, you're going to be confident."

Story edited for TeenVogue.com. See photos from Elle's photo shoot and watch a bonus interview, then pick up the complete interview with Elle King in the May issue of Teen Vogue, on newsstands April 16.

Fashion Editor: Andrew Bevan

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Blond and boisterous, music's newest hot chick is ready to stand her ground (and make a lot of noise).